Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 33: Can’t afford to offend but can’t afford to hide
  However, Jia's mother didn't seem to be satisfied with Jia Zhu's words. She glanced at Jia Zhu gently and said to Jia Zheng: "Brother Zhu said well, and Zheng'er's words are serious words. In any case, the Jia family cannot do anything This first-timer will tell Brother Zhen the same thing later."

After Jia's mother made the final decision, she couldn't help but give Jia Zhu a nod, "That's a good point. Don't say it again in the future."

Jia Lian immediately understood what Jia Mu meant, well, there must be someone in charge of this matter, right? Even though Jia Zhen is the clan leader, isn't it because Jia Jing came out of Dongfu? Now that Jia Jing is not doing his job properly, it is hard to predict the position of the clan leader in the future.

Obviously, Jia Mu is not willing to evade the issue of leadership. The two houses, East and West, are one body, and they are also brothers of separate families. The battle for dominance is no small matter in Jia Mu's opinion. The clan leader has never fought, that's because there is order between elders and younger ones. As the daughter-in-law of the second daughter-in-law, Jia Mu felt very uncomfortable with this matter. The second daughter-in-law was not as good as the eldest daughter-in-law. Wasn’t it because she was born later?
  These words can only be said in the heart, and must not be said out loud. The ethical code is often not a joke.

Mother Jia was thinking that it would be best if she didn't pay back the money. The Jia family was still rich, but it was just starting to rest on its laurels. The little salary Jia She and Jia Zheng received was incomparable to the expenses of Jia's family. They were the only two brothers who kept their salaries and refused to turn them over.

The management of the Jia Mansion was left to the housekeeper Lai Da and others. The housekeeper Jia Mu trusted the most was Lai Da. She could not have imagined that one day, Lai Da's family would be richer than the Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Lian, who had only just met for a while, definitely had no right to speak, so when Jia Mu asked him, she could only pretend to be naive, but she was actually quite naive.

"Grandma, I have nothing else to do. I'm going back to study." Jia Lian made excuses and left. He really didn't want to stay in this depressing place. A group of people discussed for a long time and came up with such a countermeasure. It would be unfair to say that they are small-minded and have no vision. The four princes and eight princes are a group of powerful people, so they naturally have to advance and retreat together.

If this situation cannot be broken, the defeat of the Jia family is inevitable.

"You're a useless little beast, running in a hurry...what?" Jia She glared, raised his eyebrows, and acted like an old man. The real situation is that seeing that the opportunity to make a fortune from the public has disappeared, Jia Lian is somewhat annoyed that Jia Lian does not cooperate. When asking you, why don't you say something that would lead your grandmother to be willing to make money? In his haste, he almost said the word "going to the funeral".

Mother Jia was naturally well aware of her eldest son's character. Seeing Jia Lian lower his head and being scolded, she couldn't help but feel distressed. She glared at Jia She and said angrily: "Brother Lian is fine, why do you scold him?" .”

After suppressing Jia She, Jia's mother said to Jia Lian: "My dear grandson, please go ahead."

Jia's mother was actually very annoyed with Jia She's wrong thoughts. Even if she wanted to pay back the money, the money could not pass through Jia She's hands. At that time, let alone getting his hands dirty, he might have bitten off a large piece of meat. If he didn't have enough money, his family would have to make up for it. This was something Jia She could do.

Jia Lian, who walked out of the Rongxi Hall, put down the calm face that he had been pretending to have. He was scolded by Jia She for no reason just now. How could he not feel resentful in his heart? It can be said that I wish I could kill him with a knife! The opportunity is not ripe yet, let’s wait a few years.

At this time, Jia Lian officially included the matter of killing Jia She from the long-term plan into the medium-term plan. With such a cheap man always weighing on my forehead, one more day is too many.

Emperor Chenghui thought that after Ming made the metaphor, there would always be a few people who paid back the money. After all, he only asked for half of it to be paid back first. Ten days later, King Zhongshun and Zhang Ting'en, who were in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, did not even wait for anyone to come to pay back the money.

This guy was so angry with Emperor Chenghui that he summoned King Zhongshun and Zhang Ting'en to the palace for discussion.

Zhang Ting'en took out an account and said: "Your Majesty, here are the accounts and the roster. Next, I will go door to door to demand payment."

Emperor Chenghui was quite satisfied in his heart, but he said with a very hypocritical smile: "In this case, I will turn my love for you into a cruel official. I can't bear it."

If Jia Lian were here, he could spit out all the food he had eaten the night before. Hypocritical, right? Hypocritical, but this is the rule of this era.

"Eating the emperor's salary is a matter of loyalty to the emperor. In order to repay the kindness of your majesty, I dare not spare my life!" Zhang Ting'en replied decisively.

King Zhongshun sighed and said, "Master Zhang, don't you remember your posthumous name?"

"Posthumous name" is really important to the ancients. A person's life has a good price and a final conclusion.

Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen of Wuzhou, no matter who meant what they did or what their real purpose was, the word "cruel official" was nailed on these two people with a pen of literati. The power of the clan jeopardized the imperial power. From Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to Wu Zetian, they spared no effort to suppress the power of the clan. No one cared about the truth.

"What I want is nothing more than loyalty to the emperor, benefit to the country, and peace to the people. I can't take care of the rest."

If Jia Lian heard this, he would have to hide as far away from Zhang Ting'en as possible. Jia Lian is a person who cherishes his body, and naturally he has to protect the people he cares about. Jia Lian expressed his admiration for sacrificing his own life for national affairs, but he would definitely not be able to do it.

King Zhongshun sighed and said nothing.

Due to the imperial examination, the number of Class C students in Class 2 has decreased by less than half. The reason is naturally that the children of officials from other places have gone back to take exams. Qingyun Academy is well known throughout the country, and getting admitted is a huge prestige asset. When I returned to my hometown to take the imperial examination, apart from other things, as long as I knew that I was a student of Qingyun Academy, I would have passed the county examination and the government examination with almost no difference.

This morning, Mr. Fang brought a new student in, stood on the stage and introduced him: "We have a new classmate, please introduce yourself." The new student was looking around. When he heard this, he quickly recovered and said: "My surname is Mu, whose name is Zihua. He comes from Mujia Village, Daxing County. We will all be classmates from now on, so please take good care of me."

Jia Lian looked at Mu Zihua with a smile on his face in the audience, his fists clenched, why don't I recognize you if I change my vest? The so-called Mu Zihua was none other than the third prince Li Heng. Jia Lian could see the purpose of coming here to study. Returning to Mujia Village in Daxing County, why didn’t you talk about Niujia Village on the bank of the Qiantang River?

Sure enough, when the guy was arranging seats, right next to Jia Lian, his former classmate returned to his hometown to take the exam.

Li Heng was a thick-skinned person. After he failed to beg Jia Lian to study with him, he directly changed his tactics and entered Qingyun Academy through the back door. He asked the queen to help with this matter. Emperor Chenghui also knew about it, but he didn't say anything and let him do whatever he wanted.

What Li Heng didn't know was that Emperor Chenghui had met Jia Lian, and through Zhang Ting'en's description, he knew Jia Lian's situation better.

For a while, Emperor Chenghui didn't like Jia Lian, a brat. If the third prince was interested, let's hook up with him. Anyway, it wouldn't be a loss. The four kings and eight princes are a powerful group. Suppression is only a temporary solution. We might as well see if we can create a wedge from within.

The third prince, Li Heng, was not as good at studying as the second prince. He was more fond of wielding swords and guns. He always told Emperor Chenghui that he would lead troops to fight and expand territory. Emperor Chenghui sent him to Qingyun Academy to study to see if he could make any progress.

"Brother Jia, nice to meet you!" Li Heng sat down with a smile and hugged Jia Lian in greeting. Jia Lian glanced at her lightly and replied: "Nice to meet you!" Then he lowered his head to read and had no interest in continuing the conversation.

As a new student, Mu Zihua (Li Heng) behaved very well. After school at noon, Mu Zihua greeted Jia Lian familiarly. He was not angry even after being treated coldly and continued to get close to other classmates. One afternoon, he came down and saw all the thirty-odd people in the class, especially the class leader Li Dong, who was very familiar with them.

When Jia Lian went out to eat, Mu Zihua also came out, and someone brought food outside. Seeing Jia Lian eating under the shade of a tree, he also came over to share the table with a bowl, and proactively said with a smile: "Brother Jia, do you mind?"

What monsters and ghosts has Jia Lian not seen? He held down Xiao An who was about to have a fit, moved the small bench to make way, and the two of them ate their own food at the small table under the tree. Mu Zihua only brought one attendant, and Jia Lian had three more servants.

After having lunch calmly, Jia Lian took the hot towel and wiped his mouth, stood up and said, "Go back and take a nap first."

Mu Zihua smiled and nodded to express receipt, and continued to eat his meal leisurely. Jia Lian didn't know what he was thinking. He simply felt a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't that he couldn't adapt. It is impossible to have a deep friendship, and it is impossible to communicate with each other.

It was a little late last night to draw the little book. Now Jia Lian felt sleepy after eating, and fell asleep leaning on the back of the chair.

In the afternoon class, Jia Lian was still a quiet and beautiful boy. When school was over, Li Dong ran over to borrow his notes. Li Heng immediately came over and said, "Monitor, can you let me copy first?"

Li Dong glanced at the new classmate and smiled patiently: "This is the latest note. I can lend you the previous notes to copy." Li Heng seemed not to have heard and turned to ask Jia Lian: " Brother Jia, can I borrow your previous notes?"

Jia Lianpi looked at him with a smile, took out the previous notes and handed them over: "Take it."

If he weren't worried about his status as a prince, Jia Lian could have bent his nose with one punch. The impulsive Jia Lian got up and left.

"Brother Jia is so serious!" Li Heng praised from behind, and Li Dong, the squad leader, actually nodded in agreement: "Indeed!"

Jia Lian heard clearly and almost jumped at his feet. What on earth was this bastard going to do?

Jia Lian didn't want to be related to any prince at all. The most real side of the children who grew up in the palace compound was the gloominess deep in their hearts. The most powerful place in the world is the harem. The harem is the most dirty place in the world, followed by the brothel.

On the way back, Jia Lian was in a bad mood. Thinking about it, he asked the driver to go to Zhang Ting'en again. Mr. Zhang had to think of a way, otherwise the flies would keep swaying in front of him and he would be in trouble one day if he couldn't help but slap him to death.

Before Zhang Ting'en went to court, the porter led him to the study to wait. Zhang Ting'en came back before dinner. When he saw Jia Lian, he frowned and said, "Didn't I tell you not to come here in the future?"

Jia Lian said with a bitter look on his face: "The student really doesn't want to come, doesn't he have to come?"

Then he told the story of the third prince, and finally said in frustration: "Now that the Spring and Autumn Period is at its peak, the third prince is seeking death." Zhang Ting'en looked at Jia Lian speechlessly and said, "Is there a possibility that the third prince has no intention at all? The throne?"

Jia Lian did not argue on this issue and begged: "Sir, please say something for the students and let your majesty get the third prince away."

Zhang Tingen looked at him helplessly and said, "Is there a possibility that this is His Majesty's arrangement?"

Jia Lian was offended by his two identical prefixes. He stood up irritably and said, "Okay, I'll go back first! If you can't offend me, why can't you hide?" After saying that, Jia Lian hugged his hands and left the study. Zhang Ting'en He said calmly from behind: "Is there a possibility that you can find an excuse to visit him even if you avoid him?"

Jia Lian stood at the door and paused for a moment, then said after a long time: "A kind of plant!"

It was Zhang Tingen who was stunned. He really didn’t understand what this meant?
  When Jia Lian returned home, he didn't even eat anything. He just started writing a request for leave and had dinner after he had finished writing.

Early the next morning, after Jia Lian woke up on time, he sat on the bed and remembered that he was going to take sick leave today.

Li Heng spent the day in vain, and went to ask his husband to find out that Jia Lian had asked for sick leave. Li Heng was speechless about this, how much he hated himself. Li Heng returned to the palace and went to see the queen in a depressed mood. After meeting and saying goodbye, he talked about Jia Lian's affairs.

The queen listened and looked at a maid next to her, then asked: "Son, what do you admire about Jia Lian?"

The maid named Jia Yuanchun suddenly stiffened, lowered her head and looked at the floor, her ears perked up.

"On March 3rd, I saw him standing in front of dozens of riders and a group of women. I felt that this man was very brave, so I put some thought into it and asked people to inquire about him. Only then did I find out that this man was quite interesting. The so-called childhood The saying that he doesn't like reading and only loves cockfighting and being a lackey should be a way for him to hide his clumsiness and protect himself. It shows that this gentleman has great wisdom and courage, and can be a helpful friend."

Jia Yuanchun was dumbfounded by this answer. Are you talking about the same person I know?
  In the eyes of other palace maids, Jia Yuanchun was a lucky man. After entering the palace, he was immediately attracted by the queen and was recruited to train her. The empress had a good relationship with Emperor Chenghui. She stayed with the empress about ten days a month. Naturally, Jia Yuanchun had served her many times. Compared with those palace ladies who could not see the emperor even once a year, Jia Yuanchun had many more opportunities.

"Yuanchun, what do you think?" The queen suddenly said this. Jia Yuanchun trembled in fright and raised her head. Fortunately, she was quite determined and quickly regained her composure and said: "Back to your highness, I thought that the three The prince might as well have a frank talk with him."

The Queen smiled and said, "That's right. Everything happens for a reason. We must find out the reason." Then she turned to Li Heng and said, "Did you hear that? Talk to people and ask why they don't like you. Look for it in yourself." reason."

Hearing the Queen's grand words, Jia Yuanchun was secretly frightened. In most cases, when people in the harem speak, you have to listen in reverse. Especially the third prince in front of him, who was usually very sweet-tongued and best at making the queen happy. The emperor also liked him quite a lot.

(End of this chapter)